ABSTRACT:

Using newly assembled administrative data, we study violence across prisons in England and Wales. We focus on three types of violence —assaults on staff, assaults among prisoners, and self-harm—and validate them as proxies for distinct dimensions of the detention experience using prisoner survey microdata. We document substantial dispersion in violence across establishments that remains large after conditioning on rich prison and inmate characteristics. Leveraging the staggered rollout of prisons inspections, we show that inspections lead to persistent reductions of 0.1–0.2 standard deviations across all measures of violence. Additional results suggest that these effects are driven by changes in management practices, with effects strongest where prison leadership prioritizes implementing a limited set of tailored recommendations issued during the inspection. Strengthening frameworks for the diffusion of effective practices can provide a scalable, cost-effective approach to improving prison conditions.

Fort further information: giorgia.bosco@unibocconi.it